Features

Introduction

In recent years, the United Nations and other multilateral organizations have joined activists, nongovernmental organizations, human rights treaty committees, national governments, transnational courts, and foundations to form a matrix of networks that use human rights as the basis for global governance. In place of more traditional and widely recognized civil and political rights, this matrix of human rights governance networks promotes the recognition, enforcement, and funding of a wide range of ambiguous economic, social, and cultural rights. This section tracks the continuing development and adaptation of this network and its implications for national sovereignty.

International Organizations

September 01, 2017

Reflecting the frustration of environmental activists and some government officials that the UN's 2015 Paris accord did not go far enough in combating climate change, French President Emmanuel Macron recently called on governments to "go beyond" the terms of the deal in clamping down on fossil fuel emissions.

September 01, 2017

A declaration recently adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Minsk, Belarus, provides global, comprehensive recommendations for governments on issues ranging from climate change to terrorism and calls for the bolstering of the "human rights enforcement mechanisms" of the transnational security organization.

September 01, 2017

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has released global guidance on "the development and implementation of gender-sensitive legislation" as part of the security organization's agenda on gender mainstreaming across society.

September 01, 2017

In a recent interview, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People Victoria Tauli-Corpuz asserted that governments must follow global standards requiring "free, prior, and informed consent" by indigenous peoples to economic projects both to protect human rights and to ensure "sustainable economic growth."

August 31, 2017

UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson has called for a greater global action to achieve targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to water and sanitation, calling for “a relationship of balance and respect with the water.”